Chapter Text
Somewhere in a realm not of this world, the Queen in White stood in her garden, admiring the pale blooms. The crops this year were small, due her brother's mischief a moon cycle ago, but the flowers were healthy and full nonetheless.
"They look great," said the red-haired witch to her left. The Queen had welcomed her into the garden a few months prior, and the two had worked together ever since. The Queen wasn't sure if she fully trusted the enchantress, but she was against the Lords in Black, which was enough.
"Yes," the Queen mused. "I'm glad I had the time to grow them amidst the chaos. What do you think?" She turned to her right, expecting to see the dark-haired young man who had joined the realm some weeks ago, but he was nowhere to be found. She was about to call his name when a gust of wind rippled through the field, heading past the monarch and the witch. The two women shared a worried, puzzled glance. That breeze meant someone had departed the Queen's Realm, meaning the boy had left.
But he didn't know the way out, which only meant someone had pulled him out.
The Queen's eyes flashed white. She did not like people interfering with her realm or her friends. She hoped whoever had stolen the young man was ready to face the consequences, because, while she was not as ruthless as her brothers, the Queen was not one to be trifled with.
She closed her eyes, reaching out through dimensions. When she arrived where she wanted, she tried to locate her friend, but her signal had been blocked by something she knew all too well:
Magic. And a very familiar kind of magic at that. The Queen hadn't spoken to its user in a long time, but she knew that they knew the dark-haired boy very well. She instantly knew what was going on. The young woman back on Earth was very powerful, more powerful than she realized, and had just done the unthinkable.
She revived the dead from the Black and White.
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"Good morning, Hatchetfield," Dan announced in an uncharacteristically somber tone. "Welcome to your Ten A.M. News. I am Dan Reynolds..." He turned to his co-host when her cue came up, but her mind was clearly elsewhere. Donna was as still as a statue, her eyes glued to her folded hands on the dusty countertop. Dan, understanding her mood, gently nudged her. She immediately snapped up and murmured an apology. "And I'm Donna Daggit," she stated with as much enthusiasm as Dan.
"This morning, the newly appointed Hatchetfield Relief Authorities informed us that teams will be sent to the site of the Lakeside Mall to try and uncover what's left of the shopping center," Dan read. "The mall was burned down one month ago by eighteen-year-old Lex Foster in order to stop the Black Friday cultists. Lex was-."
"Teams will work to find anything that may remain from those who were lost on Black Friday," Donna interrupted. "The names of the known deceased are: Sherman Young, Barry Swift, Dave Reynolds..." At this, Dan quietly sobbed as Donna continued to read. "...Frank Pricely, Linda Monroe, Gary Goldstein, and Ethan Green. This list will be updated as the mall is cleared out. Those who wish to see these updates may check at the Hatchetfield Police and Fire Departments, as well as City Hall." She glanced at Dan, who was supposed to move on to the next segment, but was in no state to do so. In an effort to salvage the broadcast, the station rolled clips of various Hatchetfield residents voicing their opinions on the mall's destruction.
"What that girl did was so unspeakable! My precious Sherman could have been saved, but what does she do? Burns him to a crisp!"
"There were still people inside! I hope she realizes that God isn't happy with her, so she should prepare for an eternity in H-E-double hockey sticks."
"God, Chastity, you're such an idiot. Anybody that was still inside was either dead or a cultist. She did us all a favor."
"She burned my favorite Cinnabon, and more importantly, my wife. I'd say she'd be hearing from my lawyer, but she burned him, too!"
"After this really scary guy tried to beat me up at the Cineplex, I was terrified for the rest of the day. I can't thank her enough for stopping those people."
"She's just a kid, alright? She was scared, and burning the place down was the first thing she thought of. She saved a lot of your sorry asses. I know my boy Ethan would be so proud of her if...if he wasn't gone."
"My darling daughter is right! That girl will never see heaven!"
"Exactly, Mark. She's a menace. A monster, even! Who knows what she'll do next?"